


capture your breath (show you whats the deal)

by egbuns



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alpha Na Jaemin, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omega Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Scent Marking, lapslock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2020-01-12 11:04:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18445265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/egbuns/pseuds/egbuns
Summary: au where it takes donghyuck five times to realize jaemin is courting him.





	capture your breath (show you whats the deal)

**Author's Note:**

> omg this fic took forever to write cos i kept rewriting it lmao but no regrets now!!! finally back on my lapslock bullshit 
> 
> this world needs more nahyuck so i delivered or at least tried!! i might delete it if it doesnt get a lot of attention ):
> 
> ps. donghyuckie is nonbinary but uses he/him pronouns teehee
> 
> title from hearts desire by courtnie

**_google search: signs an alpha is courting you_ **

 

**_**_1\. they make sure friends know you’re being courted._ ** _ **

 

 

donghyuck was half way done with his soggy frosted flakes when mark came inside their dorm and almost slapped the plastic bowl out of his hands.

 

he had no time to contain the small whine that left his lips as mark let the bowl drop into the trash can with a loud splash.

 

goodbye sweet frosted flakes, you will be greatly missed. mwah.

 

“what the fuck, mark,” donghyuck should have felt a surge of anger at mark for throwing away his only source of nutrients of the day but instead he stood there confused. his emotions not catching up to him. after a few moments he still hadn’t recovered from mark’s brave actions (it probably had to do with the fact that he hadn’t slept for more than four hours each day. midterms were shit).

 

“fuck your frosted flakes, i got good news,” mark leaned against their table nonchalantly while scrolling through his phone.

 

donghyuck gave him a moment to explain, “well—?”

 

mark shoved his phone near hyuck’s face and it almost bumped against his nose. any other day where donghyuck wasn’t sleep deprived and almost balding from stress, he would have fought him for the disrespect, but for now he glared at mark before plucking the phone off his hands.

 

the only two words donghyuck managed to process were ‘free tacos’  before blacking out and searching for his shoes in a hurry. the thought of being able to get his hands on actual food that wasn’t out of a cereal box had donghyuck turning ape shit.

 

a taco truck recently opened near their campus and in order to gather some attention, on their first day they offered free tacos. donghyuck was a broke college student majoring in sociology, which meant any free food was proof god was real and looking out for lil ol’ donghyuck.

 

“jaemin and jeno are meeting us there. he’s been in line for twenty minutes trynna get some tacos,” mark swiftly responded to his texts probably on their group chat donghyuck proudly muted the first day jeno created it due to the onslaught of messages he received during his statistics lecture.

 

finally donghyuck caught a blurry glance of the taco truck multiple feet away from them. he picked up his pace refusing to let the line get any longer than it already was.

 

donghyuck hadn’t been outside since finishing his macroeconomics exam yesterday, so he stepped foot into the courtyard and didn’t expect the weather to be clear. he felt like a little gremlin when the bright sunlight irritated his eyes.

 

he managed to catch a small glimpse of pink hair and his heart almost jumped out of his chest. jaemin had recently dyed his hair pink and even though the majority of their friends teased him for the choice of color, hyuck felt like jaemin physically punched him in the stomach. it probably had to do with the gigantic crush hyuck had on the alpha. he refused to tell anyone. not that it mattered. mark knew about it one week after donghyuck’s discovery.

 

(jaemin flirted back in the group chat after donghyuck went on his usual affectionate mode and left him squealing into the sofa. mark sat beside him with his phone in his hand and his mouth shaped in an o. “JAEMIN? YOU LIKE JAEMIN?”  
  
“say another word and i’ll kill you and then myself.”  
  
mark raised his hands in surrender.)

 

when they were finally a few feet away from their friends, hyuck almost bumped into a beta girl who intersected herself in his path. both mark and hyuck moved away from her but she followed them while messing around with her fliers until she shoved one towards mark.

 

“hey! we’re looking for single college students to participate in our valentine matchmaking fundraiser and i know you’re very single, mark so… you should join!”

 

mark frowned unsure but took the flier anyway , “way to rub it in my face that i’m single, jiwoo.”

 

“sorry,” jiwoo’s smile wavered a little from guilt, “we just really need participants. all you have to do is fill out this questionnaire and once we’ve matched you, the list of matches will be five dollars. it’s for a good cause! all the money goes to an organization that helps undocumented children.”

 

donghyuck would have laughed at this interaction if he wasn’t genuinely intrigued, “i’ll fill out the form,” he shrugged. he was curious to know who they’d match him with based off the questionnaire. a small part of him was hoping maybe something would come out of it and he’d let go of his fantasy that jaemin would court him.

 

jiwoo finally acknowledged donghyuck with hesitation and doubt. “oh… it’s for single college students.…”

 

hyuck squinted at her suspiciously. he wasn’t sure whether to feel offended at her refusal to give him a questionnaire or not. donghyuck thought it was pretty obvious that he was single considering the fact that he didn’t have a mate mark and didn’t smell like anyone but himself.

 

the only reason hyuck could imagine why she would refuse to let him join was because he was an omega. it wouldn’t be the first time donghyuck had been treated differently for his status. even though it was technically illegal to discriminate against omegas, it didn’t stop others from feeling a certain way when around them. her hesitation left him a little pissed.

 

“yeah,” he let the word drag on awkwardly, “i know that.”

 

jiwoo looked beside her at something or someone. donghyuck would have followed her quick glance to see jaemin staring intently at the interaction but instead the omega was watching her trying to figure out why she was so nervous over a stupid form, “oh, okay. here you go,” she reluctantly gave donghyuck a questionnaire and once he took it, she scurried off like a squirrel without much of a glance back.

 

“the fuck? she didn’t want to give me the stupid questionnaire just ‘cause i’m an omega. i really hate betas sometimes.”

 

“you sure you wanna join this though?” mark asked chewing on his lip. he read through the paper with furrowed eyebrows. “like jaemin wouldn’t be too happy about it.”

 

“what does jaemin have to do with any of this? i’m just signing up out of spite now. i bet they didn’t want omegas to participate,” donghyuck stared at the small booth jiwoo returned to. it was a few feet away from the taco truck filled with betas and alphas trying to coerce any poor college student that stepped close to them.

 

“i don’t think that was the reason—“

 

“you don’t know shit, mark,” donghyuck retaliated. he hated when people tried to find any explanation besides balant discrimination towards an interaction a omega experienced.

 

mark decided to keep his mouth shut, although hyuck could see he wanted to say more. mark knew it wasn’t his place as an alpha and that pleased donghyuck.

 

“now the lines longer,” donghyuck whined.

 

they both got in line and after thirty minutes, they finally got their hands on the free tacos. they made their way towards jaemin and jeno who sat on a bench across the taco truck.

 

unfortunately, mark managed to get there first and seat himself on the only space left on the bench.

 

“this is absolute racism!” donghyuck pouted. ready to begin his dramatic shenanigans in hopes that maybe mark will feel a little bad and let him sit on the bench instead.

 

“we’re both asian so it doesn’t count,” mark said through chews.

 

“it’s okay, hyuckie. you can sit on my lap,” a smug smile crossed jaemin’s lips while he pat his thigh.

 

jaemin telling people to sit on his lap was a normal occurrence and usually meant nothing but he rarely ever asked donghyuck and when he did, donghyuck always found a way to decline the request mostly because he knew his little heart wouldn’t be able to take it. but right now, when looking around, there wasn’t a single unoccupied seat so donghyuck had no choice but to accept his fate.

 

“just sit on his lap, you coward,” jeno egged him on.

 

“all you guys do is oppress me,” donghyuck slowly sat himself on jaemin’s lap.

 

jaemin moved him closer to a comfortable position and continued eating his tacos like he didn’t have an omega on his lap. “see? that wasn’t so bad,” jaemin looked up at donghyuck with a smile that the omega couldn’t quite decipher.

 

donghyuck let out a small shaky breath to relieve the  anxiety he felt simmer in his stomach. it was so weird to be on top of your crush like this. “i guess.” was all he could say.

 

they ate in silence for a while until jaemin finished his and tossed the paper plate towards jeno. he wrapped his arms around hyuck’s waist and moved him closer.

 

donghyuck almost choked on his taco.

 

“what was jiwoo talking to you about?”

 

from this close encounter, donghyuck could smell jaemin’s sweet scent and it had hyuck’s stomach feeling tight. his brain short circuited, “huh? who?”

 

“jiwoo. what did she want?”

 

“oh!” donghyuck finally came to his senses. the tip of his ears gradually turned red, “she didn’t want to let me join the matchmaking thing cause i’m an omega so now i’m joining out of spite.”

 

“you’re gonna enter the matchmaking fundraiser just ‘cause she pissed you off?” donghyuck could tell jaemin wasn’t pleased. it left him a little discouraged but he quickly erased his doubts. he didn’t like that mark and jaemin were against his idea of joining. he assumed they wouldn’t care much since his encounter with jiwoo was… suspicious.

 

“they don’t want omegas to join! or at least she doesn’t. i feel like i’m the only one who wants justice here.”

 

“chenle signed up, they can’t hate omegas. maybe they thought you weren’t single?” jeno shrugged.

 

“does it look like i have a mate mark to you guys?” he bared his neck for them to see, “i am very much single.”

 

jaemin was unusually quiet, but donghyuck didn’t gamble too much on it, instead he got up from his lap, jaemin’s arms falling down to his sides as he watched donghyuck dust himself off. jaemin didn’t let his stare wager away from hyuck and it left him a little jittery. donghyuck couldn’t quite pinpoint what jaemin was feeling off his stare.

 

“i’ll see you guys later,” was all hyuck said. a pair of eyes clearly burning holes on his backside. he knew if he glanced at jaemin all his anger would dissipate and he’d turn around with his tail behind his legs asking for forgiveness.

 

yeah, getting over jaemin was a good idea.

 

-

 

  1. **protective.**



 

two weeks after joining the matchmaking fundraiser, donghyuck’s feeling of injustice had gradually disappeared and he was ready to stop his petty silence towards jaemin and mark.

 

**to: nana, canada**

**from: hyuckie**

 

**let’s go get sushi!!**

 

**to: nana, hyuckie**

**from: canada**

 

**Sooo now you wanna hang out**

 

**to: canada, hyuckie**

**from: nana**

 

**meet us at bento box sweetie!! also shut up mark**

 

donghyuck tried containing the small blush after jaemin’s pet name, but he was never good at being discreet. he shoved his phone in his pocket and headed out of class.

 

he reached the courtyard when he caught a glimpse of jaemin near the math building. donghyuck was halfway from yelling jaemin’s name when he heard his own from behind.

 

“donghyuck, hey!”

 

donghyuck recognized the scent of a familiar alpha. he grimaced, he knew exactly who it was just by sniffing the air. donghyuck thought of pretending he never heard the alpha and continue his path, but his body turned around out of instinct from hearing his own name be called.

 

“riley,” he let it drag out. “what’s up, man?”

 

“whew, you’re a fast walker,” he paused, breathing harder than usual.

 

riley was in donghyuck’s statistics lecture and he never failed to argue with the teacher on irrelevant topics. he often stared at the omegas in class until his friend would snap him out of it. riley was just an all around pretentious, weird alpha donghyuck had no means in interacting with, but unfortunately riley was interested in him and constantly invited him to weird hangouts. donghyuck always politely declined, but riley was persistent.

 

“i just wanted to ask if you were free today—?”

 

“i’m hanging out with my friend. sorry,” except hyuck didn’t sound a bit apologetic.

 

riley looked a little discouraged but kept pushing, “what about tomorrow?”

 

“i’m busy tomorrow too—“

 

riley quickly interrupted, “that’s fine! what if i give you my number and we can set up a date?” he got a little closer as if it’d convince donghyuck to finally say yes to ‘hanging out.’

 

his overwhelming scent had donghyuck moving away from him. he was starting to pressure donghyuck more than usual, “listen buddy, i gotta go. but maybe some other day,” he pointed finger guns towards the location jaemin initially was. he hoped it was enough to get riley off his back. he knew he had given riley another opportunity to approach him again some other day but he’d beat himself up for that once he could finally get away from the alpha.

 

when awkwardly turning around, a heavy hand smacked against his shoulder and stopped him from moving any further. donghyuck felt like a bucket of cold water was dumped on his head. the omega’s scent turned into a putrid smell that had riley immediately retracting his hand off his shoulder.

 

donghyuck slowly faced riley, not sure how to react. not sure whether if causing a commotion would piss riley off or not. alpha’s were so unpredictable when humiliated.

 

he really just wanted to kick him in the balls even if the idea wasn’t the best. maybe if he wasn’t so shocked that riley touched him, he would have kicked him, but having an alpha touch an omega without permission was almost harassment so the utter shock donghyuck was in left him speechless and frozen in his spot.

 

he couldn’t gather a single coherent thought to possibly say to riley.

 

the soothing scent of jaemin filled his nostrils. he visibly relaxed at the familiar smell.

 

“hyuck, hey,” jaemin approached them both but his intense glare wouldn’t waver off riley. he looked bigger than usual. it was an alpha’s way of dominating another alpha. his waves of pheromones were heavy and domineering to any alpha who happened to be in close distance.

 

donghyuck knew if he didn’t act fast things were going to turn bad quickly.

 

he snapped out of his shock and pushed jaemin away from riley. jaemin was incredibly overprotective towards his friends. which lead him to not think much of the interaction.

 

if the conversation between the two alpha’s began it would end with a lot of alpha anger and donghyuck balding from stress.

 

“sorry, riley! places to go, people to meet. you know what i mean. anyways, see you later!” he continued shoving jaemin to the opposite direction of a confused riley. he paused before saying, “also don’t ever touch me again!” he pointed a finger at riley. trying his hardest to sound intimidating.

 

donghyuck turned around, took a hold of jaemin’s hand, and proceeded to walk the general direction to bento box. his brain not yet processing the fact that he was holding hands with jaemin.

 

“thanks for that,” donghyuck broke the silence between the two. trying his hardest to ease the anger simmering inside jaemin. he knew the alpha wasn’t satisfied with the interaction.

 

there was a pause before jaemin’s sharp gaze landed on hyuck, “has he ever touched you before?” his voice was filled with pure fury and it caught donghyuck off guard. he had never seen jaemin this incredibly upset. it had the omega releasing a comforting scent to soothe the alpha’s displeasure.

 

“no,” he admitted.

 

“why the fuck did he think it was okay to touch you?” jaemin only seemed to gradually get pissed off.

 

hyuck’s scent got a little stronger and jaemin finally acknowledged it and pulled the omega closer by the hand. he sniffed around the nape of donghyuck’s neck where the relaxing scent was heavily concentrated in.

 

the omega’s was having heart palpitations every time jaemin inhaled his scent, brought him even closer, and landed a hand on his waist while the other still held onto his sweaty hand.

 

a small bubble of hope glowed inside his chest and had him melting against the alpha’s hold.

 

this was all incredibly cheesy. donghyuck would have barfed if he was a passerby.

 

he tried to reason with his poor little heart that it was normal for an alpha to do this. renjun had smelled around his neck a million times whenever finals were getting too stressful and it was totally platonic.

 

jaemin was simply reacting like any other alpha would when an omega’s smell is relaxing. it was platonic.

 

donghyuck felt a brush of lips against his neck. he let out an embarrassing gasp that had jaemin abruptly stopping before quickly letting go. donghyuck wanted to shoot his own foot for disrupting the moment.

 

jaemin took a second to gather himself, “tell me if he ever touches you again,” he stared at donghyuck for a few seconds. he made sure the omega understood and then he let go of his hand.

 

donghyuck mourned the contact. “ah ha ha…” he laughed awkwardly, “alright.” he bit the inside of his cheek trying to stop the temperature of his face from rising. he was glad the sun was setting and jaemin wasn’t able to catch the blush on his cheeks. not that he was looking anyways.

 

he appreciated how protective jaemin was. donghyuck tried not to think any deeper into it. he was afraid he’d fall in a hole too deep for him to get out of. somewhere he wouldn’t be able to shove in the back of his mind and only think about during nights he was allowed to be emotional.

 

this was all just annoying as hell.

 

-

 

  1. **they scent mark you.**



 

the sun was slowly peeking its way through thick winter clouds and introducing spring. the local flower festival outside of campus was finally open. it was a hot spot for broke college students due to free entry. donghyuck always looked forward to the festival after classes. it probably was the only reason donghyuck hadn’t ripped his hair out of stress.

 

donghyuck scurried around their dorm almost done with his makeup while jaemin sat on the couch and watched him run around their dorm in search for setting spray.

 

once donghyuck retrieved it through the depths of jeno’s room, he applied the spray and walked back to his shared room with renjun.

 

“hyuckie, come here,” jaemin motioned him to sit on his lap.

 

donghyuck hesitated, “what,” was all he could say.

 

jaemin pat his lap again. a look of determination on his face.

 

the omega couldn’t figure out what jaemin’s intentions were but he slowly walked towards the couch and decided to sit next to jaemin instead of on his lap. the alpha didn’t seem to mind.

 

“i’m gonna scent mark you,” his hands had already moved towards donghyuck’s wrists in order to bring the omega closer.

 

“what!” donghyuck squeaked out. he would have felt embarrassed due to the high pitch sound he was sure reached levels taeil could only dream of reaching, but he had no time to grovel on the fact because jaemin’s breath hovered around his neck and donghyuck’s body instantly went slack.

 

jaemin rubbed his cheek against his neck. both their scents heavy inside the dorm. donghyuck heard the beginnings of a growl deep inside jaemin.

 

it took donghyuck a while to collect himself and have enough power to snap out of his instincts, “wait why?”

 

jaemin pulled away an inch or two and donghyuck had to fight the small whimper at the tip of his tongue. “so you don’t get harrassed by an asshole.”

 

the festival was a fun experience but also an opportunity for alpha’s to grope omega’s. he’s had his fair share of unwanted hands on his back and butt during the festival so it made sense for jaemin to scent mark him. donghyuck didn’t gamble too much on it. he considered it a friendly gesture more than a lame excuse to mark.

 

instead of replying, donghyuck bared his neck for jaemin.

 

he didn’t hesitate to move donghyuck by the waist and onto his lap. donghyuck’s thighs situated on each side of jaemin.

 

 _this is nice_ . _verrrryy nice._

 

he could look down at jaemin. it was a very intimate position. a position that was strictly for pairs that were interested in each other. donghyuck didn’t put two and two together. how could he when he had lips hovering over his neck?

 

jaemin continued to scent mark him. donghyuck resisted the urge to let out small sounds. instead he rested his hands on jaemin’s shoulders and would squeeze each time the urge to let out a gasp got too strong.

 

donghyuck felt the tip of jaemin’s tongue against a sensitive spot on his neck. a small moan tumbled out of donghyuck’s mouth and that’s when shit got serious (seriously pathetic).

 

jaemin paused. his lips still attached to the omega’s neck and his hands still on his waist.

 

donghyuck prepared himself to mourn the loss of contact, but instead jaemin’s scent shifted into a smell that had the omega melting on top of him. his insides feeling gooey and a small amount of arousal release between his thighs.

 

he tried so hard to stop his interest from peaking, but that’s when jaemin decided to lick a long stripe along his neck. the hands on donghyuck’s hips squeezing hard and moving him forward until their chests bumped against each other.

 

donghyuck wrapped his hands around the alpha’s neck.

 

and then he was scrambling multiple feet away from jaemin at the sound of the door being opened.

 

renjun and jeno arrived from the grocery store.

 

“jesus. were you guys fucking?” renjun pinched the bridge of his nose. the look of disgust evident on his face. “...on the couch?”

 

jeno imitated a sound of vomiting.

 

donghyuck was at loss of words. he didn’t dare glance at jaemin who had his head thrown back against the sofa, eyes rolling with a grimace on his face, and his hands in fists.

 

“hyuck open the windows before i kill myself,” renjun dropped their groceries onthe counter.

 

donghyuck hurried to get the windows opened before wasting no time to lock himself in his room ignoring renjun’s “don’t you dare lock that door!” in favor of falling onto his bed in humiliation.

 

after a while, he could hear his roommates quiet down and the sound of the dorm door being opened then shut.

 

donghyuck assumed his friends had left to the festival without him. he wasn’t sure whether to feel offended or relieved when there was a gentle knock on his door. he considered not answering.

 

“we’re waiting for you,” jaemin sounded quieter than usual.

 

donghyuck swallowed down his awkwardness, “i’ll meet you guys there,” he managed to squeak out.

 

jaemin hesitated, “alright. text us when you’re there,” before slowly walking away.

 

donghyuck almost gave himself a concussion from hitting his head against the wall in frustration. he could only find two reasons to explain what happened between him and jaemin. the alpha was interested in him or it was simply the work of pheromones that led them to that situation.

 

donghyuck chalked it up to pheromones because it was the only one that made sense. it was the only reason that didn’t leave hyuck wanting to shoot his own foot. he felt too inferior to believe jaemin would ever show even an ounce of interest.

 

he had better options than an annoying omega.

 

(when at the festival, not a single soul dared touch donghyuck. if he paid closer attention he’d see the look of content on jaemin’s face instead of the usual weariness he wore when donghyuck smelled of just himself).

 

-

 

  1. **he does things with you he usually doesn’t with others.**



 

it took almost a month of jeno and renjun coercing donghyuck into hanging out with jaemin until he finally shed his awkward exterior and looked the alpha in the eye.

 

donghyuck was content (more like pretending) on merely being acquaintances after their humiliating incident however his friends weren’t letting it happen.

 

jaemin also made it clear he missed donghyuck. he initially kept his distance but when the omega slowly became comfortable with his presence again, jaemin admitted to missing him.

 

the look of sincerity was enough for donghyuck to regret ever distancing himself from jaemin. he wore a smile reserved for donghyuck only. a smile that donghyuck couldn’t quite decipher without feeling overwhelming butterflies in his stomach so instead he looked away and tried to catch himself from turning pink.

 

so donghyuck and jaemin were in good terms now. that meant jaemin was back to being hyuck’s go to person when he felt the need to go out. jaemin almost always had his schedule open compared to his other friends, therefore whenever hyuck wanted to hang out, he’d usually go straight to jaemin.

 

donghyuck finished watching a youtube review on a recent movie that’d been released when he decided he needed to watch the movie immediately or else he would Die.

 

the only problem was jaemin hated cinemas and their friends always had a hard time persuading jaemin into accompanying them to the theater. it usually ended with a stubborn jaemin and a pissed off renjun.

 

donghyuck had never asked jaemin to accompany him to the movies so he prepared a 500 word speech and an optional presentation in case jaemin was leaning towards saying yes but needed a push (he didn’t really. he was just ready to beg on his knees until jaemin was sick of it and caved).

 

he entered jaemin’s room without warning. maybe scaring jaemin was the key here.

 

“jesus fuck,” jaemin dropped his phone on his face at the sound of the doorknob hitting the wall. he sat up from his bed, a frown etched on his face. “what the hell, hyuck?”

 

okay… off to a bad start but hyuck could still convince him.

 

he resisted the urge to laugh and instead he put on his sweetest smile. he batted his eyes and hoped he didn’t look as constipated as he felt.

 

jaemin narrowed his eyes, “you want something?”  it didn’t really come out as a question but more like a statement.

 

he got closer to the alpha until he sat on the edge of his bed. he clapped his hands together, “can you please go to the movies with me?” he emphasized the please and pouted after.

 

jaemin took a while to answer. he stared at donghyuck. the omega could feel his pathetic aegyo crumble into discomfort.

 

after what seemed like years to him, jaemin finally answered. totally catching donghyuck off guard, “yeah, i’ll go.”

 

donghyuck jerked his head back so fast he almost gave himself whiplash. he didn’t expect to convince jaemin this quickly or at all. “wait, for real?”

 

jaemin raised an eyebrow, “yeah i’m down.”

 

dumbfounded, donghyuck said, “you hate going to the movies though.” he really should shut up.

 

“that’s true,” he rested his head on his pillow and went back to scrolling through his phone. he let out a sigh. a smile slowly reaching his features, “nevermind then.”

 

donghyuck rolled his eyes. he slapped jaemin’s leg before getting up from bed, “shut up! we’re leaving an hour so get dressed!” and then he exited jaemin’s room with a grin on his face. well that was way easier than renjun made it seem. suck it renjun!

 

an hour later, jaemin was dressed and waiting in their shared living room. donghyuck couldn’t help but squeeze jaemin’s cheeks and coo out a, “thank you, nana!”

 

(“how’d you convince him to go to the movies?” mark seemed genuinely impressed.

 

donghyuck shrugged, “i just asked.”

 

“of course all you had to do was ask,” mark mumbled.

 

“what?” donghyuck asked. not quite catching what he said.

 

“what?” mark said back. he clearly wasn’t going to repeat himself so donghyuck dropped it.)

 

-

 

today, donghyuck was in the mood for petting cats. he’d just finished going through his instagram explore page full of cat videos and declared his need to pet fluffy animals.

 

**from: hyuckie**

**to: nana**

**wanna go to a cat cafe with me :D**

 

**from: nana**

**to: hyuckie**

**i’d rather eat my own vomit than ever pay for their overpriced coffee**

 

**from: hyuckie**

**to: nana**

**please ):**

 

**from: nana**

**to: hyuckie**

**fiiine but you’re paying for my coffee**

 

**from: hyuckie**

**to: nana**

**:D pick me up from physics**

 

**from: nana**

**to: hyuckie**

**On my way!**

**< 3**

 

multiple hours later they arrived back at the dorms. jaemin headed straight to the bathroom while donghyuck made his way towards renjun on their sofa.

 

renjun looked up from his phone, his eyes landing on the coffee in donghyuck’s hand.

 

“you went to a cat cafe with… jaemin?”

 

“yeah. it’s on my snapchat story. maybe if you didn’t skip stories you’d know this.”

 

renjun flipped him off, “he hates cats. he’d rather die than ever touch one.”

 

donghyuck shrugged. jaemin never mentioned his hate towards cats,but now that renjun mentioned it, it made sense why jaemin avoided touching the cats, “maybe he’s more open to it now?”

 

renjun just stared at donghyuck like he was the dumbest person on earth, “he said this when we visited jeno’s family. it would take a lot for jaemin to be near cats,” he was very deliberate when saying this as if he was trying to make donghyuck realize something.

 

donghyuck blinked, “i remember that.” he didn’t think it _mattered_. so why was renjun widening his eyes and leaning forward?

 

“don’t you think it’s weird?”

 

“... that he likes cats now?”

 

“no you fucking idiot! that he’s going out of his way to hang out with you even if it’s at a cat cafe!”

 

“why are you so mad?” donghyuck frowned. he got up from the couch. clearly renjun was in one of those moods. he’d rather not be the victim of renjun’s wrath.

 

renjun just shook his head and went back to scrolling through his phone, “how are you the smartest person in our group?”

 

hyuck shot him a playful glare. he stayed quiet for a while sipping on his coffee and staring at nothing in particular. he wondered what renjun meant.

 

right when he gathered the courage to ask, jeno stumbled into their dorm, a gigantic grin on his face as he proceeded to do the whoa in front of them.

 

“guess what i got back!” jeno fished inside his bag, revealing a nintendo switch, “MY SWITCH!”

 

“oh hell yeah!” renjun got up from his seat.

 

maybe donghyuck will ask some other day.

 

(he didn’t).

 

-

 

  1. **they take care of you.**



 

donghyuck was sick. his stomach was bloated, nose was runny, and his throat felt scratchy and dry. all key symptoms of his heat arriving. his friends were careful not to annoy him unless they wanted him in a fit of rage, so instead they’d leave him alone when he was in his moods and rub his stomach when he needed it.

 

it was jaemin who rubbed donghyuck’s stomach the most. he always volunteered when he had the chance and donghyuck tried not to think any deeper into it and instead chalked it up to jaemin wanting to help out.

 

today though, donghyuck was upset. he wrapped himself in his blanket and curled into a ball. jaemin had abruptly stopped cuddling with the omega. he promised he’d come back in a few but that still didn’t stop donghyuck from feeling a little abandoned.

“renjun,” he croaked out loud enough for renjun tohear him from outside their dorm room, “come cuddle with me.”

 

“i’m busy,” he replied back. it was so clear that he wasn’t by the fact that donghyuck could hear him playing legend of zelda on jeno’s switch.

 

“this is sexism against omegas. i’m dying and no one cares,” donghyuck whined out. he curled tighter into a ball and readied himself to complain until renjun would cave and cuddle him.

 

unfortunately after a few minutes renjun still didn’t cave so instead, donghyuck got up from his spot in his bed. with shaky legs, he walked towards the kitchen anticipating his comfort cookies to be there ready for him to really just gobble up. his stomach was growling and the only food that didn’t strike up his nausea were the chocolate chip cookies he was currently obsessed with, which were nowhere to be found.

 

donghyuck let himself fall onto one of their dining room chairs in order to will away his oncoming headache. he’d have to convince renjun to bring him his cookies but he seemed too engrossed in his video game. jeno was at a lecture and donghyuck had no idea where jaemin was. his only choice was to get them himself. at the thought of that, donghyuck’s body seemed to ache even more. it was definitely going to take him a while before he’d finally gather the strength to get out of the apartment.

 

it wasn’t ideal for omegas to be out during their preheat since their scents usually became more enticing during the preheat stage, but donghyuck could already feel the bouts of nausea simmering inside his stomach from lack of food. they were always the worst to get rid of, so donghyuck had no choice.

 

too focused on trying to regain his strength, he missed jaemin’s arrival into the dorm.

 

“hey,” jaemin approached donghyuck. a hand ran through donghyuck’s brown locks. his voice was so gentle. the omega in donghyuck melted, “why aren’t you in bed, darling?”

 

“i was hungry,” donghyuck would have cringed at his own small voice but during his preheat stage jaemin always managed to make donghyuck feel small. the vulnerability was a way for omega’s to show they trusted an alpha.

 

“i got you some stuff,” jaemin reached inside the paper bag he had to reveal a box of cookies, “you said you were out so i went to go get them. i also got a few granola bars for when you start your heat and a heating pad for your stomach. also fuzzy socks ‘cause those are cool—“

 

donghyuck watched jaemin dump the contents of the bag onto their table.

 

all donghyuck could think was, wow, jaemin cared.

 

and then suddenly everything made sense. everything clicked inside donghyuck’s head. he briefly remembered the time he stumbled across a cosmopolitan article on the internet: five signs an alpha is courting you.

 

the protectiveness, the scentmarking, the jealousy— every single interaction he had with jaemin seemed to confirm jaemin was courting him.

 

it had donghyuck losing his mind with the amount of questions he had.

 

“oh my god. you’ve been courting me?” was all donghyuck could breathlessly say.

 

jaemin stopped talking. his face completely blank.

 

maybe donghyuck misread him? his body suddenly didn’t feel so achy, instead he wanted to escape. leave this embarrassing situation and pretend he didn’t just ask jaemin such a pathetic question.

 

renjun’s obnoxious, loud laugh made the omega flinch, “he fucking finally figured it out,” his laugh could still be heard even when he had left the dorm probably to give them both some privacy.

 

jaemin looked up at the ceiling exhausted. he inhaled through his nose and exhaled out of his mouth before finally looking down at donghyuck with a small smile on his face.

 

it was enough to fully confirm it. donghyuck’s face flushed bright red. he tried to pinpoint in his head when jaemin suddenly started acting different, but his memories all blended together, “for how long?”

 

“almost a year,” jaemin reached for donghyuck’s hand.

 

“why didn’t you say anything?” donghyuck intertwined his fingers with jaemin’s. warmth radiated inside his chest.

 

jaemin never took his eyes off donghyuck as he sat on the chair beside him, “we all wanted to see how long it would take for you to notice.”

 

“we?”

 

“all of our friends know. including jiwoo the beta you thought hated omegas. she knew you were being courted.”

 

donghyuck hid his face from jaemin in embarrassment but jaemin quickly caught his other hand, “i was such an asshole to her.”

 

“it’s okay,” jaemin cooed, “you’re oblivious. it can’t be helped. which is why we all forgive you.”

 

donghyuck rolled his eyes, a smile tugging at his features, “so when you scentmarked me…?”

 

“that was me courting you, yeah. i thought it was pretty obvious.”

 

“i did think it was sorta weird,” donghyuck admitted, “i also thought it was weird you lost your temper with riley and also you being okay with going to the movies with me.”

 

“fuck riley. i wanted to kick his ass,” jaemin squeezed his hands, “it’s very hard for me to say no to you.”

 

donghyuck let out a small laugh. he got up and situated himself on jaemin’s lap. the alpha’s arms instantly wrapped around his waist. the position was familiar. donghyuck was so dense for not figuring it out before.

 

“ask me,” donghyuck whispered against jaemin’s lips.

 

at first jaemin looked confused, but eventually caught on to what donghyuck was implying. he looked up at donghyuck.

 

“let me be your alpha?”

 

donghyuck could finally decipher the pure and genuine affection in jaemin’s eyes.

 

donghyuck pressed his lips against jaemin’s into a savory kiss that he hoped would answer jaemin’s question. he pulled away when his grin got too big. he let out a laugh when he saw jaemin chase after his lips. donghyuck couldn’t get enough of this feeling.

 

he pecked jaemin’s lips one more time and moved strands of pink hair away from jaemin’s forehead.

 

“okay," hyuck landed one more kiss on his nose.

 

he could get used to this.

  


**Author's Note:**

> i congratulate u for reading this!! hit that kudos button to mend my insecurities djhfd i was so nervous to post this dfjhf
> 
> im thinking about adding more but jaemins view idk? lmk!
> 
> if you'd like to talk i made a curiouscat: @soulglitch !


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